Architectural Fragments and Models

The Foundation’s architectural collection includes approximately 15,000 fragments taken from structures that range in date from the 17th to the 21st century. Most were removed to ensure their survival when they became too fragile to remain in situ. Others came as salvage materials retrieved when early buildings were razed. While the collection is largely based on materials from Williamsburg, it also includes elements from the eastern United States, the Caribbean, and Western Europe.

Architectural fragments from greater Williamsburg informed the early restoration efforts for the town and they still do so today. In recent years the collection provided everything from paint colors to molding profiles for the reconstructions of Richard Charlton’s Coffeehouse and James Anderson’s Public Armoury. It also produced data for the accurate paint palette now used on reconstructed buildings in Williamsburg’s Historic Area.

Collectively the building fragments contribute to our understanding of the built environment in early America. Those pieces falling outside the 18th century provide context for changing tastes and technologies.

The architectural collection contains models as well, most focused on Colonial Williamsburg buildings. Used for design, study, and aesthetic purposes, the models include the Raleigh Tavern, Robertson’s Windmill, the Governor’s Palace, the Wren Building at the College of William and Mary, the Williamsburg Lodge, and the Historic Area, among others.